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Season 1 – Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Play trailer 2:19 Poster for Season 1 – Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Jan 2026 Adventure Comedy Drama Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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85% Tomatometer 62 Reviews 51% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
"Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" introduces viewers to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.
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Star Trek: Starfleet Academy — Season 1

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy — Season 1

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Critics Consensus

Injecting a heavy dose of hormones and humor into the Star Trek universe, Starfleet Academy marks a refreshing tonal shift that proves this franchise still has plenty of new thematic territory to explore.

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Critics Reviews

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David Bianculli NPR Jan 21
The sets are brighter, the dialogue is sharper, with more expletives than expected from the elders as well as the kids, and the character development is strong across the board. Go to Full Review
John Anderson Wall Street Journal Jan 17
“Starfleet Academy” is not a particularly serious story... When the show wants to be funny, though, it is. Go to Full Review
Eric Deggans NPR Jan 16
A promising collection of characters and storylines just setting the table for future achievement, not quite ready to prove its value beyond the legends of Kirk and Spock. Go to Full Review
Susan Granger SSG Syndicate 1d
5/10
Aimed at YAs, it's far too melodramatic with sci-fi jargon-filled dialogue that's shallow, superficial & often mumbled. As Chancellor. Holly Hunter is sloppy & unkempt, flopping in the captain's chair like a barefoot hippie in a dorm room. Go to Full Review
John Stark Mac the Movie Guy Mar 19
31/100
Starfleet Academy really isn’t a gamble, it is just drivel, poorly conceived in an effort to meet an audience Star Trek doesn’t have where it thinks they are. Go to Full Review
Adrian Ruiz But Why Tho? A Geek Community Mar 16
9/10
If the franchise continues to respect the past while remaining aspirational about the future, there’s room for stories like Starfleet Academy to push the universe forward. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Christina C @RT43062178 8h While I am much older than the target audience I have enjoyed Starfleet Academy very much. I love the captain and her bare feet and the way she is involved emotionally and how she thinks outside of the box. I love the students, how they’re from all different walks of life and how they’ve learned to bond with each other. Of course I love SAM. How could you not?! I love their levels of inclusivity and the way, even within certain alien races, they’re exploring diversity such as they did with Jay-von. The character growth has been really fun to watch. I’m quite disappointed that there won’t be a third season, although I’m greatly looking forward to season two. I will probably come back and watch the series again in a couple years, definitely adding it to my rewatch roster. I’m disappointed in all the people that gave it poor reviews, saying it didn’t fit with the Star Trek genre or whatever they said because they are wrong. I feel like it fits in very much. See more James H. @DoppelDrachen 2d Coming from a generation two steps ahead of the target audience of Starfleet Academy also means coming from a generation when Star Trek meant something else to people. Many people look at this show and think, "It's not Star Trek." Those words were used to describe the Star Treks of my generation, when Picard commanded a new Enterprise, when Sisko watched over space on the verge of war, when Janeway's ship got "lost". I say, Starfleet Academy is Star Trek, possibly more than anyone realizes. From the moment it premiered to the last Season 1 episode it has been a joy to watch. It doesn't explore new worlds, it explores the human spirit and the human potential. It shows us how people from different places can come together and grow together as they learn about themselves as individuals and as a found family. In the end, when all the haters say otherwise, that is always what Star Trek has been about, from Kirk and Spock to Picard and Data to Caleb Mir and SAM and Jay-Den. See more TiredAnd S @RT11331432 6d I was intrigued by Holly Hunter as thr captain. She is tiny but mighty and I knew this would be an fun angle. I may not be the main demographic. Im 47. A nerd but not a psyfi nerd. Husband is a nerd tho, is in his 50s and he enjoyed this too! I used to love Enterprise and voyager and the original series and a bit of deep space 9. I couldn't get through Enterprise back in the day when it aired. I haven't dipped my toes back into star trek since then. But I sure got sucked into this season! In fact, now I want to go back and watch the last two ST series in the franchise because I liked this so much. The show is a wonderful balance of lightness and humor with complex life and war issues and classic does of action. I liked all the cast. The faculty, the students, the villains. I was pulled in by episode 2 and by 3 I was hooked. I am not an angry 50-60's year old nerd boy who MUST! HAVE! IT! EXACTLY! CATERED! TO! ME! I can watch something outside of my expectation & still enjoy it. See more Anna S. @SVENSG761 Mar 25 Just try to give whole season a chance and I do want ST:Academy as dvds. Not really happy with Paramount for slowly canceling all the Star Trek and how bad CBS treated Stephen Colbert but it’s cool Colbert is in it, too. I hated Section 31 movie but this series is way better than Section 31 movie. It does takes time to acclimate to these characters. It’s storytelling from the eyes of the young adults of starfleet who survived the Burn and future of Federation is in process of rebuilding. It was awesome with Voyager and DS9 callbacks, yeah. Currently finished episode 7 of season 1, I liked the series. Not up to love yet, but some characters I liked. It has budding young love between characters and a lot of trauma drama. It could be so much more, plot and development. I think the writers tried to portray Starfleet in a way that bridges most of Star Trek. Hopefully people to change their mind. I heard they are canceling after season 2. It has potential to be better. Come on See more William F. @RT56112709 Mar 24 Started slow but more action towards the end of the season. Mixed feelings on this one. See more Bee T @RT42439394 Mar 24 This show is absolutely incredible. I fell in love with Holly Hunter and Raoul Bhaneja and Gina Yashere immediately. Already loved Robert Picardo and Tig Notaro of course. Plus all of the kids, too... this season told so many beautiful stories and inspired so much hope. I fell in love with Star Trek as a teenager and this show recaptured that feeling of awe and hope and belonging that 90s Trek gave me. Captain Nahla is forever my captain. See more Read all reviews
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy — Season 1

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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Jan 15, 2026 Kids These Days After being on the run since age six, 21-year-old Caleb, a street kid, is offered the chance of a lifetime; to join the first new Starfleet Academy class in San Francisco in over a century. Details Episode 2 Aired Jan 15, 2026 Beta Test With the start of the new academic year, Caleb's unease about his future at Starfleet Academy persists; a delegation from a former Federation ally arrives and Caleb is tasked with showing their leader's daughter around campus. Details Episode 3 Aired Jan 22, 2026 Vitus Reflux While the cadets compete to join an elite team at the Academy, a battle of escalating pranks breaks out between them and a rival school. Details Episode 4 Aired Jan 29, 2026 Vox in Excelso Jay-Den faces an existential crisis that threatens his species while confronting his past. Details Episode 5 Aired Feb 5, 2026 Series Acclimation Mil Sam sets out to solve an ancient Starfleet mystery and embarks on a journey of self-discovery; Nahla agrees to help a fellow chancellor with an elaborate alien ritual. Details Episode 6 Aired Feb 12, 2026 Come, Let's Away During the cadets' first training mission on an abandoned ship, they encounter a dangerous new enemy; as the cadets fight for survival, Nahla must risk everything to save them by seeking help from an unexpected source. Details Episode 7 Aired Feb 19, 2026 Ko'Zeine During a school holiday, cadets return home and must choose between family expectations and dreams. Details Episode 8 Aired Feb 26, 2026 The Life of the Stars A visiting instructor arrives at the Academy and uses an unorthodox method to help the cadets process the emotions of what it takes to become a Starfleet officer. Details Episode 9 Aired Mar 5, 2026 300th Night As the year comes to an end, Caleb has to choose between the life he thought he wanted and the life he's built for himself at Starfleet Academy; Nahla breaks protocol in one final gambit to keep her promise to Caleb. Details Episode 10 Aired Mar 12, 2026 The return of an old enemy forces Nahla to confront her own mistakes as the cadets and instructors undertake a seemingly impossible mission to save the Federation, while defining the future of Starfleet. Details

Season Info

Director
Douglas Aarniokoski, Alex Kurtzman
Executive Producer
Alex Kurtzman, Noga Landau, Gaia Violo, Aaron Baiers, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Jenny Lumet, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, Frank Siracusa, John Weber
Network
Paramount+
Rating
TV-PG
Genre
Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date
Jan 15, 2026